VAT reduction welcomed, but only effective if businesses are open

TaxAssist Accountants has welcomed the new VAT rate for the hospitality & tourism sectors, that was announced as part of Budget 2021’s business supports package. 

The VAT rate will be reduced from 13.5% to 9% for the tourism and hospitality sector. This will affect restaurants, hotels etc. The new rate will come into effect on 01 November 2020 and will run until December 2021.

Michael Scanlan, Technical Manager at TaxAssist Accountants says “we have a lot of clients on our books that run businesses in the hospitality and tourism industries and we know first hand the particular difficulties these businesses are facing during the COVID-19 crisis. We welcome the move to cut VAT for this sector in an effort to keep these businesses afloat.”

Scanlan adds however, “this measure, along with the Stay & Spend tax credit, will only be of benefit to these businesses if they are actually open and trading. They are contingent on restrictions being eased in the coming months. If strict constraints continue and businesses are forced to remain closed they will need to rely heavily on other supports like the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) and the new COVID-19 Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS).”

A range of support measures to help businesses through the coronavirus pandemic were unveiled as part of Budget 2021. Read our full Budget Report here.

Date published 15 Oct 2020 | Last updated 15 Oct 2020